Top 10 Most Underrated Hanna-Barbera Voice Actors

If there's one thing you should have learned about me by now, it's that I love discussing the voice actors of Hanna-Barbera cartoons. If you're a longtime reader of this blog, I imagine you feel the same. While the animation and writing of their shows ebbed and flowed over the years, one can never say their voice actors were ever phoning it in. From the day their doors opened to the day they closed forever, Hanna-Barbera employed a large and talented cast of actors. But today, I'm not talking about Blanc, Butler, Messick, Waldo, or any of the well-known fellows. They were fantastic, but we all know that. Instead, I'm going to focus on ten classic-era Hanna-Barbera voice actors who I don't feel get the recognition they deserve. We'll be going from ten to one, and my only requirement to be considered here is that they were initially employed during the company's golden years (this fluctuates from person to person, but I'll label said years as 1957-1969). Let's get this show on the road!

10. Arnold Stang

To paraphrase a quote from Yowp and his fantastic blog, Stang wasn't an actor who needed a thousand voices to be funny. One got the job done and then some. While he did voices in several cartoons over his career, from Captain Planet to Courage the Cowardly Dog, Arnold Stang will always be remembered as the first and greatest voice of Top Cat. The search for an actor to portray the character was long and arduous, but it was Stang who got the gig. Now, you cannot imagine anyone else playing Top Cat. Even just a picture of T.C. is enough to get you to hear his voice. He might not have had the range of other actors Hanna-Barbera worked with (which is why he's placed here on my list), but in my humble opinion, Stang is every bit as important to Top Cat as Alan Reed is to Fred Flintstone and Don Messick is to Scooby-Doo.

9. George O'Hanlon

Much like Arnold Stang, George O'Hanlon wasn't exactly a master of the vocal arts. As Janet Waldo often said of him, his voice for George Jetson was essentially his normal voice. Yet, just like Arnold, I can't imagine any other voice coming out of George's mouth. Many would say George Jetson is a boring character, and while I understand those arguments, with O'Hanlon delivering his dialogue, I never felt a dull moment with him. You also have to give O'Hanlon a great deal of credit for returning for the revival series in the 80s and the succeeding feature film. While the quality of both projects is questionable, the fact he came back for both, despite major health problems, shows you just how much he loved not only The Jetsons, but acting in general. Who would've thought Joe McDoakes would turn out to be such a great voice actor?

8. Doug Young

You probably know the first two men in the above image as Daws Butler and Don Messick, but you might not know the man in the middle. That, my friends, is Doug Young. Alongside Messick and Butler, Young was one of the first actors the studio hired after opening, but unfortunately, his name is not nearly as well known as his colleagues. A major reason for that is that he didn't stay with the studio for nearly as long as they did (the last show he did for HB was Laurel and Hardy in 1966), which is a real shame. He played several characters for the studio in their early years, but my favorite role of his would have to be Ding-A-Ling Wolf. I mean, with a name like that, how could you not love him? As one of Hanna-Barbera's first voice actors, Young deserves not just a spot on this list, but more attention in general for his invaluable work for the studio in its infancy.

7. Julie Bennett

This spot goes out to another unsung talent from Hanna-Barbera's early years. When people discuss the actresses hired by the studio, many will point to Jean Vander Pyl as being the first employed. But right there by her side was Julie Bennett. Bennett had just as long of a career, appearing in everything from Quick Draw McGraw to the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon, but she sadly seems to have been overlooked in discussions surrounding classic cartoon actors. Her most prolific character was Cindy Bear, who she voiced on and off for 30 years. She was a truly versatile actor, having done voices for not only Hanna-Barbera, but also Warner Brothers, UPA, and MGM. With such a resume, it really does make me wonder why more don't bring Bennett up when discussing the voice actresses of yesteryear.

6. Henry Corden

Known best for being the second voice of Fred Flintstone, Corden had an impressive niche carved out for him at Hanna-Barbera years before he took over the role of their most famous character. He was their go-to actor whenever they needed a villainous, bruiser-type character. He was featured in practically every episode of Jonny Quest, where he displayed not only his talent for voicing villains, but also his knowledge of various dialects. I feel like for many, his time as Fred Flintstone somewhat overlooks the rest of his voice-acting career, and quite unfairly, too. While I have mixed feelings about his version of Fred Flintstone, Corden was undeniably a great voice actor. I can completely understand why he was chosen for the role, and realistically speaking, I'm not sure if there's anyone else who could have fit into Alan Reed's shoes as well as he did.

5. Tim Matheson

Child voice actors, are, like their onscreen counterparts, hit or miss. I've heard plenty of great children VA's in cartoons, and some that left a lot to be desired (and I do mean no offense to any of those actors). Tim Matheson, however, definitely fits into that former category. Matheson had a lot on his plate when he did Jonny Quest. Not only was he a child doing a voice for a big-budget ABC cartoon, he was doing the voice of the series. The whole show would've fallen apart if audiences didn't buy into him as an eleven-year-old adventurer. So how did he do? Given we're still talking about the show sixty years later, I think he did alright! Matheson did a wonderful job as Quest. He felt like a real kid, and choosing to hire a child voice actor made the show feel somewhat grounded in the face of all the sci-fi elements. And clearly, Matheson enjoyed working on the show. Not only did he appear in a few of their post-Jonny Quest series, but he still does voices in animation even today! Overall, he's a man of extraordinary talent, though his vocal work especially needs more love from fans.

4. Gary Owens

A man whose personality was every bit as large as the heroes he voiced were super, Gary Owens is best remembered for voicing the original Space Ghost, but he appeared in many of their cartoons, from Dyonmutt to SWAT Kats. His voice just screams heroism and justice, making him the obvious choice for characters like the Blue Falcon. With that voice, it's rather surprising he never voiced any major comic book superhero character during his career (except for a small part as Batman in an episode of The New Batman Adventures). Even when the shows were less than stellar, Gary Owens gave every episode and every role his all. I'll have more to say about Owens next month (I've got a post planned for his birthday), so I'll leave you with this. If there was any Hanna-Barbera voice actor who I'd want to narrate my life, it would have to be Owens!

3. Ted Cassidy

Not many people can say they've voiced either Galactus or Godzilla, but Ted Cassidy can say he's voiced both. When you take a look at the guy and hear his voice, you understand why. He was one of those actors just born to play the bad guys, but it's not that his voice is deep. Plenty of actors can do that. No, what I love about Cassidy's voices is there's a real scratchiness to them, which makes his characters feel all the more threatening. But while Cassidy might've been typecasted as villains, he could also show off a bit of a softer side, which he did when he portrayed Frankenstein Junior. Ted Cassidy was, both literally and figuratively, a giant in the entertainment world. The fact he isn't discussed more for his voiceover work is a real shame.

2. John Stephenson

If there was any voice actor on The Flintstones who could be dubbed the show's most valuable player, it would have to be John Stephenson. While he's best known for voicing Mr. Slate, he played an insane amount of minor characters throughout the show's run. He could also be heard in just about every other series they made, playing everyone from Doggie Daddy to Fancy Fancy. So why don't more people talk about him? Maybe it's because he rarely ever had a starring role in their cartoons, but in my mind, Stephenson is every bit as important to Hanna-Barbera as people like Don Messick, Daws Butler, or Frank Welker. You just cannot imagine their cartoons without his voice. He was a tremendous talent who worked in animation for fifty years, and his name should be every bit as important to Hanna-Barbera's legacy as those aforementioned names.

1. Bea Benaderet

Getting the top spot on this list is the woman who gave Betty Rubble life, Bea Benaderet! I could sing the praises of Benaderet's voice-over work for days, but I'll try to be brief here. Benaderet wasn't just one of the first voice actresses Hanna-Barbera hired, she was one of the first voice actresses period. She voiced many characters for WB throughout the 40s and 50s, and then moved onto Hanna-Barbera afterwards. She was a true vocal wizard, and it was her work with both studios that proved it. Take a look at the character of Betty, for example. She's a pretty simplistic character, but Benaderet gives her depth. She felt like a real person, especially in her scenes with Wilma. The fact she was friends with Wilma's VA, Jean Vander Pyl, certainly helped there. Nobody else has ever voiced Betty as well as she did, and considering the character's been voiced by everyone from June Foray to Grey Delisle, I'd say that's quite the accomplishment.

Benaderet gets the number one spot here because not only is her work underappreciated by animation fans, but by her employers as well. From WB refusing to credit her in their cartoons to Hanna-Barbera's recasting of her in The Flintstones, Benaderet never got the praise she rightfully deserved for her animation work. Considering her role in shaping not just early Hanna-Barbera cartoons but also those of Warner Brothers, how could I not place her here?